期刊
NEUROBIOLOGY OF LEARNING AND MEMORY
卷 78, 期 2, 页码 332-346出版社
ACADEMIC PRESS INC ELSEVIER SCIENCE
DOI: 10.1006/nlme.2002.4062
关键词
spatial navigation; visual acuity; proximal; distal; place learning; cue learning; preweanling rats; development; ontogeny; Morris water maze
资金
- NIDA NIH HHS [DA07304, DA09160] Funding Source: Medline
- NIEHS NIH HHS [ES06259] Funding Source: Medline
Proximal versus distal cue use in the Morris water maze is a widely accepted strategy for the dissociation of various problems affecting spatial navigation in rats such as aging, head trauma, lesions, and pharmacological or hormonal agents. Of the limited number of ontogenetic rat studies conducted, the majority have approached the problem of preweanling spatial navigation through a similar proximal-distal dissociation. An implicit assumption among all of these studies has been that the animal's visual system is sufficient to permit robust spatial navigation. We challenged this assumption and have addressed the role of visual acuity in spatial navigation in the preweanling Fischer 344-N rat by training animals to locate a visible (proximal) or hidden (distal) platform using double or null extramaze cues within the testing environment. All pups demonstrated improved performance across training, but animals presented with a visible platform, regardless of extramaze cues, Simultaneously reached asymptotic performance levels; animals presented with a hidden platform, dependent Upon location of extramaze cues, differentially reached asymptotic performance levels. Probe trial performance, defined by quadrant time and platform crossings, revealed that distal-double-cue pups demonstrated spatial navigational ability superior to that of the remaining groups. These results suggest that a pup's ability to spatially navigate a hidden platform is dependent on not only its response repertoire and task parameters, but also its visual acuity, as determined by the extramaze cue location within the testing environment. The standard hidden versus visible platform dissociation may not be a satisfactory strategy for the control of potential sensory deficits. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science (USA).
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